Every once in a while, we get a flyer in our newspaper about Singer School sewing machines being sold in our area. They claim that they are new, heavy duty machines that will sew all fabrics (even leather!) and the latest one even says that they will serge fabrics and cut off the excess fabric with the purchase of an optional cutter. These are supposedly made extra sturdy to withstand the abuse that students would give it. All of this for $149.00! Limited 25 year warranty. One day sale, with demonstrations going on.

Anybody ever buy one of these machines? What's your opinion?

Sure sounds tempting!

Sue

I've seen those ads too and wondered the same thing.
I'll be watching to see what info you get.

You might be able to use the search function above, because I think there was a discussion on these.

I have seen some of these machines and I was not too impressed with them at the time. However, this was a few years ago so perhaps they are better now!

They've been running that type of ad for years. Schools no longer buy machines like that and many schools do not even have a course that offers any sewing at all. Our local high school has a fashion arts class and they are stitching with Janomes or Husqvarnas (middle of the road machines $400-$600 range).

Those ads have been running for decades. They're just a come-on for not-very-good-quality machines. This is probably one of the worst ways to go looking for a sewing machine. Buying off the shelf at Walmart is better, especially considering that low-end Singer machines have a very bad rep while low-end Brother machines (the kind sold at Walmart) have a pretty good rep.

I would be cautious. Schools don't pre-order machines any more because they don't have that type of budget and hardly offer sewing courses. Our schools used to buy Pfaff because they had very few problems with them and didn't have to have a repair person coming every week

I went to one of those sales decades ago & was not impressed. I would not buy a new machine from someone who would not be there when something went wrong. I can't remember what kind of warranty they were giving.

I bought one of those machines about 15 years ago and I love it. I have had no problems with it. We have a local man who repairs all brands of machines, so service is no problem. The local Singer dealer will repair them also. I wanted a Singer machine at the time and this was all I could afford. The local Singer dealer didn't have a machine for $150. The serger attachment does a pretty good job also. It has come in handy several times.

Sorry my little cheap machine isn't good enough for some of you, but I am happy with it. It does everything I need.

I got mine about the same time - maybe I have your twin! It has never (knock on wood) given me any problems.